DEL MAR  Four weeks of laughter, shouting children and loud music were replaced Friday morning at the Del Mar Fairgrounds by the sounds of booths being dismantled, and the loud beeps that 18-wheelers make when they back up.

Instead of crowds waiting in line to ride Megadrop or eat deep-fried cookie dough, men in hard hats were busy taking apart a Ferris wheel while vendors stuffed unsold needlework and crafts into minivans.

The 2013 San Diego County Fair ended its 24-day run with a special Fourth of July celebration Thursday night, and Friday was tear-down and cleanup day.

Fair officials declared the county’s largest annual event a huge success on Friday morning. Total attendance was 1.42 million, second only to last year’s record-setting 1.51 million.

Food vendors sold more than 50,000 pieces of chocolate-covered bacon, 23,000 mini doughnuts and 15,000 Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joes. Meanwhile, 20,176 entertainers performed a total of 2,100 hours on nine stages and several other venues.

Fair officials said revenue data would be available in roughly a week.

Vendors and maintenance crews took some time to reflect on this year’s fair Friday morning as they hosed down food booths, loaded folding tables into trucks and helped prepare the fairgrounds for the beginning of thoroughbred racing season July 17.

“It was chaotic but it was fun,” said Ariel Carinda, a first-time fair worker from Fresno. “They told me I would hate people by the end, but I just got frustrated a few times.”

Carinda worked in the exhibit celebrating the 2013 fair’s theme of “Game On!,” a celebration of nostalgic board games, pinball and modern video games.

Martin Guzman said the fair was a major financial boost for him, explaining that it’s the first of six fairs he works each summer in the southwestern U.S.

Guzman, who was headed to Orange County Friday for the fair that starts there July 11, said he’s usually conflicted when a fair ends.

“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “You did well. But it’s so much work that you’re glad it’s over.”

Amy Murphy, who just completed her freshman year at the University of San Diego, said the fair has been a major bonding experience for her and eight longtime friends from the Del Mar and Carmel Valley areas. The young women have worked together at the Grant’s Ice Cream Bars booth for the past three years, dealing with rowdy customers, broken machinery and other problems.

The only drawback of the fair, Murphy said, is that nearly all of the attractive young men came with dates. “Good-looking guys don’t come to the fair alone,” she said.

But Danny O’Sullivan, a 17-year-old Oceanside resident who sold car care products at the fair this year, said he had no problem finding attractive young women.

“I got lots of phone numbers,” he said.

Carl Johnson, who sells sports memorabilia at the fair each year, said sales were a little disappointing this year because he expected a boost from the recovering economy.